(a) Notice and Pledge. - No one shall be voted for in
a primary election without having filed a notice of candidacy with the
appropriate board of elections, State or county, as required by this section.
To this end every candidate for selection as the nominee of a political party
shall file with and place in the possession of the board of elections specified
in subsection (c) of this section, a notice and pledge in the following form:

Date __________

I hereby file notice as a candidate
for nomination as ____________ in the __________ party primary election to be
held on ________, ______ I affiliate with the __________ party, (and I certify
that I am now registered on the registration records of the precinct in which I
reside as an affiliate of the ____________ party.)

I pledge that if I am defeated in
the primary, I will not run for the same office as a write-in candidate in the
next general election.

Signed ____________________

(Name of Candidate)

Witness:

____________________

____________________

(Title of witness)

Each candidate shall sign the notice of candidacy in the
presence of the chairman or secretary of the board of elections, State or
county, with which the candidate files. In the alternative, a candidate may
have the candidate's signature on the notice of candidacy acknowledged and
certified to by an officer authorized to take acknowledgments and administer
oaths, in which case the candidate may mail or deliver by commercial courier
service the candidate's notice of candidacy to the appropriate board of
elections.

In signing the notice of candidacy the candidate shall use
only that candidate's legal name and may use any nickname by which he is
commonly known. A candidate may also, in lieu of that candidate's legal first
name and legal middle initial or middle name (if any) sign a nickname, provided
that the candidate appends to the notice of candidacy an affidavit that the
candidate has been commonly known by that nickname for at least five years
prior to the date of making the affidavit. The candidate shall also include
with the affidavit the way that candidate's name (as permitted by law) should
be listed on the ballot if another candidate with the same last name files a
notice of candidacy for that office.

A notice of candidacy signed by an agent or any person other
than the candidate shall be invalid.

Prior to the date on which candidates may commence filing,
the State Board of Elections shall print and furnish, at State expense, to each
county board of elections a sufficient number of the notice of candidacy forms
prescribed by this subsection for use by candidates required to file with
county boards of elections.

(a1) Disclosure of Felony Conviction. - At the same time
the candidate files notice of candidacy under this section, the candidate shall
file with the same office a statement answering the following question:
"Have you ever been convicted of a felony?" The State Board of
Elections shall adapt the notice of candidacy form to include the statement
required by this subsection. The form shall make clear that a felony conviction
need not be disclosed if the conviction was dismissed as a result of reversal
on appeal or resulted in a pardon of innocence or expungement. The form shall
require a candidate who answers "yes" to the question to provide the
name of the offense, the date of conviction, the date of the restoration of
citizenship rights, and the county and state of conviction. The form shall require
the candidate to swear or affirm that the statements on the form are true,
correct, and complete to the best of the candidate's knowledge or belief. The
form shall be available as a public record in the office of the board of
elections where the candidate files notice of candidacy and shall contain an
explanation that a prior felony conviction does not preclude holding elective
office if the candidate's rights of citizenship have been restored. This
subsection shall also apply to individuals who become candidates for election
by the people under G.S. 163-114, 163-122, 163-123, 163-98, 115C-37, 130A-50,
Article 24 of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes, or any other statute or
local act. Those individuals shall complete the question at the time the
documents are filed initiating their candidacy. The State Board of Elections
shall adapt those documents to include the statement required by this
subsection. If an individual does not complete the statement required by this
subsection, the board of elections accepting the filing shall notify the
individual of the omission, and the individual shall have 48 hours after notice
to complete the statement. If the individual does not complete the statement at
the time of filing or within 48 hours after the notice, the individual's filing
is not complete, the individual's name shall not appear on the ballot as a
candidate, and votes for the individual shall not be counted. It is a Class I
felony to complete the form knowing that information as to felony conviction or
restoration of citizenship is untrue. This subsection shall not apply to
candidates required by G.S. 138A-22(d) to file Statements of Economic Interest.

(b) Eligibility to File. - No person shall be
permitted to file as a candidate in a party primary unless that person has been
affiliated with that party for at least 90 days as of the date of that person
filing such notice of candidacy. A person registered as
"unaffiliated" shall be ineligible to file as a candidate in a party
primary election.

(c) Time for Filing Notice of Candidacy. - Candidates
seeking party primary nominations for the following offices shall file their
notice of candidacy with the State Board of Elections no earlier than 12:00
noon on the second Monday in February and no later than 12:00 noon on the last
business day in February preceding the primary:

Governor

Lieutenant Governor

All State executive officers

United States Senators

Members of the House of Representatives of the United States

District attorneys

Candidates seeking party primary nominations for the
following offices shall file their notice of candidacy with the county board of
elections no earlier than 12:00 noon on the second Monday in February and no
later than 12:00 noon on the last business day in February preceding the
primary:

State Senators

Members of the State House of Representatives

All county offices.

(d) Notice of Candidacy for Certain Offices to Indicate
Vacancy. - In any primary in which there are two vacancies for United States
Senator from North Carolina, each candidate shall, at the time of filing notice
of candidacy, file with the State Board of Elections a written statement
designating the vacancy to which he seeks nomination. Votes cast for a
candidate shall be effective only for his nomination to the vacancy for which he
has given notice of candidacy as provided in this subsection.

(e) Withdrawal of Notice of Candidacy. - Any person
who has filed notice of candidacy for an office shall have the right to
withdraw it at any time prior to the close of business on the third business
day prior to the date on which the right to file for that office expires under
the terms of subsection (c) of this section. If a candidate does not withdraw
before the deadline, except as provided in G.S. 163-112, his name shall be
printed on the primary ballot, any votes for him shall be counted, and he shall
not be refunded his filing fee.

(f) Candidates required to file their notice of
candidacy with the State Board of Elections under subsection (c) of this
section shall file along with their notice a certificate signed by the chairman
of the board of elections or the director of elections of the county in which
they are registered to vote, stating that the person is registered to vote in
that county, stating the party with which the person is affiliated, and that
the person has not changed his affiliation from another party or from
unaffiliated within three months prior to the filing deadline under subsection
(c) of this section. In issuing such certificate, the chairman or director
shall check the registration records of the county to verify such information.
During the period commencing 36 hours immediately preceding the filing deadline
the State Board of Elections shall accept, on a conditional basis, the notice
of candidacy of a candidate who has failed to secure the verification ordered
herein subject to receipt of verification no later than three days following
the filing deadline. The State Board of Elections shall prescribe the form for
such certificate, and distribute it to each county board of elections no later
than the last Monday in December of each odd-numbered year.

(g) When any candidate files a notice of candidacy
with a board of elections under subsection (c) of this section or under G.S.
163-291(2), the board of elections shall, immediately upon receipt of the
notice of candidacy, inspect the registration records of the county, and cancel
the notice of candidacy of any person who does not meet the constitutional or
statutory qualifications for the office, including residency.

The board shall give notice of cancellation to any candidate
whose notice of candidacy has been cancelled under this subsection by mail or
by having the notice served on him by the sheriff, and to any other candidate
filing for the same office. A candidate who has been adversely affected by a
cancellation or another candidate for the same office affected by a
substantiation under this subsection may request a hearing on the cancellation.
If the candidate requests a hearing, the hearing shall be conducted in accordance
with Article 11B of Chapter 163 of the General Statutes.

(h) No person may file a notice of candidacy for more
than one office described in subsection (c) of this section for any one
election. If a person has filed a notice of candidacy with a board of elections
under this section for one office, then a notice of candidacy may not later be
filed for any other office under this section when the election is on the same
date unless the notice of candidacy for the first office is withdrawn under
subsection (e) of this section; provided that this subsection shall not apply
unless the deadline for filing notices of candidacy for both offices is the
same. Notwithstanding this subsection, a person may file a notice of candidacy
for a full term as United States Senator, and also file a notice of candidacy
for the remainder of the unexpired term of that same seat in an election held
under G.S. 163-12, and may file a notice of candidacy for a full term as a
member of the United States House of Representatives, and also file a notice of
candidacy for the remainder of the unexpired term in an election held under
G.S. 163-13.